The Start
by nith
Summary: What could have happened after K.A left off
1. Chapter 1 Ellimist's POV

Hey readers, this is my first fanfic and I don't mind flames as long as I have a couple of honest views. Please R&R. I've tried to stick to what K.A. left us with, but I had to change little bits and pieces. Oh and mind any typo's I make- English is not my best subject ;) . 

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THE START BOOK 55

Chapter 1 Ellimist's P.O.V

I was swamped by regret, how could I have let that one human die? Whose life had given me the edge against Crayak? Whose efforts combined with 5 others had saved the freedom of probably trillions if not zillions of species' around the universe in millions of different galaxies. How could I condemn her to death, and the lives of the morph capable humans and the Andalite, to sorrow and grieve over her demise for the rest of their lives?

But it was part of the rules for the "game", that neither Crayak nor I could bring the dead back to life. So how to make Crayak want her to come back to life? Hmm... I glanced over to what the remaining Animorphs were doing and gasped! What in the universe was going on here? 

For Jake, Marco, Tobias- the forgotten Animorph, two morph capable humans and an Andalite stuck in human morph, were aboard a Bug fighter headed for Zero-space. But what really surprised me was the fact that Cassie wasn't there. So the mission must have been very dangerous for Jake to leave Cassie behind. So what could be that dangerous?

Of course! What else! They were looking for Prince Aximili-Escarrouth-Isthill, younger brother of Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul.

Then it clicked, the way to make Crayak bring Rachel back! You see, the morph capable humans on board would have no chance of fighting and defeating _THE ONE, _and if _THE ONE _beat them then _THE ONE _would be vastly more powerful than both Crayak and I- put together. However if all the Animorphs were together and worked together then even Crayak could not defeat them without breaking the rules of the game. 

Oh well time to go bother Crayak. 

"Crayak", I called using my Ketran and form, "We need to have a little chat concerning the Animorphs and _THE ONE_" Crayak appeared in front of me in his dark monster guise.

"This had better be good, Ellimist, I was in the middle of wiping out all the sentient races in Quadrant 329 of the 1597th sector of space" he thundered. 

"Do you realise that the remaining Animorphs, except for Cassie- the anomaly, have gone on a deep-space mission to save Aximili- their Andalite friend? And they _will _find _THE ONE_" I paused waiting for him to reply.

"Yes of course. I'd have to be a fool not to" he retorted angrily.

"Good, then you also know that there is no chance that they will win as they are now, however, _if_ they were to be _all reunited _then they would most probably beat _THE ONE_. It may mean breaking the rules, Crayak, but it will be preserving your games of genocide for only you". Then I realise that my carefully worded last phrase had struck a chord with him, he would agree. 

After he finally muttered, "Okay bring her back, just this once, though". I raced off to find the Animorphs and bring Rachel back to life as soon as possible because the sooner they were together the greater their chance of beating _THE ONE._

At my command a previously darkened, curled up line of space-time brightened and straightened, uncurling and rushing straight into a tangle with 5 other lines. Yes! Rachel was back. 

She materialised in front of me as the 16 year old she was, I mean had been.

" Geez, you ruined my life, now you want to ruin my death too?" she complained sarcastically, more than a bit annoyed. I smiled to myself, she was still the same old Rachel.

" No, I want to offer you the option of another life", I said, I couldn't let her know too much.

"What's the catch?" she asked suspicious, blue eyes narrowed.

" None, you and Cassie will be simply transported into a spaceship heading for the other Animorphs, however the spaceship will only last the trip there and back. Also only three humans may board it at any one time and return in it. Think of it this way, this is your only chance to see Tobias again" I coaxed.

" You call that 'no catch'?" she responded.

"Hurry, Rachel, hurry, every moment counts if you and Cassie are to save the Universe and all the Animorphs lives" I hastened, trying a different plan.

"Ooh, a mission. Why didn't you say so in the first place? I would have agreed immediately, I'll say one thing about death: remember to bring a book with you" she exclaimed her blue eyes brightening.

"Tell me", she continued, "exactly who are we fighting?" she questioned. 

" That's for me to know and you to find out. So will you take this mission?" I asked carefully, knowing she would definitely accept.

" Well.... That depends,", she joked, "will it be suicidal and totally insane?"

"Yes, most likely" I responded seriously.

"Most definitely then" she answered half-serious half-joking.

" Ok then: oh and by the way, do you mind if I leave it to you to explain to them why you're still alive?" I needed to be sure.

"That's fine-" I cut her off by shuttling her straight onto the ship, and smiled, everything was going to be all right. 

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Thanks for reading up to here peoples. I hope to get the next chapter( I've already written a rough copy) out soon but that doesn't mean that I wont listen to any ides "hint, hint". So please review soon! I finally got this out! Yeah!

Oh and Tweetz an' Barbie (two of my friends), I expect you two to tell me what you think of this chapter, tomorrow! 

cya all,

nith 


	2. Chapter 2 Cassie's POV

**Hey peoples, thanx so much for reviewing, everyone! So happy, got SEVEN, that's right peoples SEVEN, reviews! But more about that later. **

Oh and I forgot to add a disclaimer last time so here goes:

I do not, nor pretend to, own any, or all, of Animorphs *kinda wish I did but still* therefore pleez do NOT sue as I only own the plot of The Start and so on.

**And I have a confession to make I just realised that Rachel has been dead for THREE years and not one. I've changed it in this chap and I will change it in the last chapter, soon, I hope. This next chapter is assuming that Cassie doesn't stay on Earth for long**

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Chapter 2 Cassie's POV

"Ronnie, I can _not_ believe you,", I exclaimed. I wanted to go after Jake, Marco, Tobias and the others who had left- or should I say _disappeared,_ yesterday. 

"Cass, it's too dangerous, I don't want what happened to Rachel to happen to you" he responded. That saddened me, my best friend Rachel had died defeating the Yeerks, then anger took over strengthening my own resolve to go, how _dare_ he try to use guilt against me?

"Ronnie, three years or so ago I did this sort of thing all the time-"

"But three years or so ago, you had no choice, three years or so you were an Animorph" he cut in and said. That _really_ annoyed me.

" I am _still_ an Animorph, and I am going after the others no matter what you do or say" Whoa, that had been quite a speech, but I meant it, and Ronnie could tell by my tone that it was useless to argue and he understood.

" So they mean more to you than I do, right?" he half-asked, in a bitterly sad voice, though he already knew the answer.

"They were my friends for years and they saved my life countless times, I _can't_ just let them go without me" I said softly, though a fair bit sadly, knowing full well what would happen.

" It's over then, isn't it?" he said more than asked.

"Yes-"

ZAP!

"- it's over Ronnie" I finished, just noticing that I had been transported away. Darn, that Ellimist, he always had the perfect timing to jerk us away right in the middle of something important. Hmmm... I seemed to be on a space ship of some sort, but before I could make a more detailed evaluation, I heard a voice ring from behind me, a voice that I knew, a voice from my past, the voice of one who could not possibly be alive...

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should I leave it like that? Hee hee hee. Nah, I'm not THAT slack- I don't think, no smart comments ANYONE. But then again the first chap kinda gives the surprise away * sigh* why did I have to post that chap first? oh well back to the show- or story in this case. 

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"So who is this Ronnie guy, and why were you talking to Ronnie and not to Jake?" Rachel asked. Rachel? 

It was RACHEL! I was so sure of this that, without turning around to make sure it was her, I spun around and hugged her.

"Cassie, stop strangling me already" she managed to mumble hoarsely. Letting go, I asked her what she was doing here and what was going on, my mind blown away with sheer happiness. She had not changed a bit since I last saw her which was what? Three years ago. 

"I asked first, so you should answer first," she responded, she was still the same Rachel I had known so giving in, I said

"Well, Jake was feeling so guilty after..., you know...", I didn't want to say 'you died' it just didn't seem right. Fortunately, I didn't have to, she knew.

"... I died, I know. But what happened then? 'Cause the Ellimist didn't fill me in properly, but then again he never does. Though he does have good reasons, of that you can always be sure", she continued. The Ellimist? That didn't surprise me but I wondered what he was up to. Rachel, pretty much reading my mind, as per usual went on to say, 

" Don't look at me for the answers, he just told me I could be alive again if I came on this spaceship. Oh and by the way, he also mentioned a mission and saving the others butts (sp?)", she began to smile broadly. 

"They _cannot_ stay out of trouble without us, eh?", then with a grin, she added "and after this is all over we are so totally going shopping. L.L. Bean? At least your style isn't poop-covered overalls anymore, but it could still use some work. Oh man, Can't believe it's been THREE years since I last shopped! Three years! But still what's been happening over the past few years?" she questioned, turning serious again. 

Where to start explaining? I decided to start with Marco's fate since that would shock her so much she wouldn't bawl me out over what happened to Tobias and Jake. 

"Um.... Marco is a movie star-" I began but Rachel cut me off.

"WHAT!!! Marco a _MOVIE_ _STAR,_" she exclaimed.

"Yeah", I said grinning at her expression of total and complete amazement.

"Okaaaay then. Back to reality, here, what happened between you and Jake? And what about Tobias?" she said the last bit almost casually but I could tell she really wanted to find out about his fate. So I decided to tease her a bit.

Well your _boyfriend_ is ok, but I have a feeling Marco is so gonna lose his lunch when you and Tobias 'reunite'" I finished, watching her blush a shade of crimson that I had never thought she could go- the shade of embarrassment, not anger.

"Well what about you and Jake, huh?" a change of subject, a sure sigh of embarrassment, but she did want to find out what had happened to us.

"He's a professor of morphing technology at an army run school, kinda ironic in a way, seeing as we didn't even formally graduate high school. And I am the Special Assistant to the President for Resident Aliens- I'm on the Presidents sub cabinet. I manage the National Parks and stuff. Is that what you wanted to know?" I answered. Annoyed she responded

"No I mean _between_ you two, you know" she began awkwardly.

"There is _nothing between_ us. In fact I went out with Ronnie Chambers. I just broke up with him to come after the others at any rate. So do we have to fly this ship or what?" I asked, ready to focus on matters at hand.

"Nah, it's all taken care of, there's a beam weapon of some sort, but it just shoves stuff, or pulls stuff closer or away without destroying it" Rachel explained almost crossly.

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That's it for now, peoples. Don't worry, I'll have the next chapter up soon hopefully 2 morrow.

To all who reviewed - course there'll be plenty of C/J and R/T hopeless at fluff but hopefully I'll get some help from friends * grins hopefully at Barbie and Tweetz * and anonymous those are just nicknames for some friends.

Pleez review! 

cya all, nith


	3. Chapter 3 Tobias' POV

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Disclaimer: I do not own Animorphs, just the adventures depicted in The Start.

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I am so sorry for mot updating sooner but there was a blackout and then fanfics stuffed and then I had end-of-term last moment assignments. Also my fave subject at school got a ... * starts thinking carefully about what to call him* ... what can I say that wouldn't make this chapter rated PG? ... *finishes thinking carefully about choice of words* _very_ "odd" teacher. He gave us assignment after assignment, I've been slaving over the computer for hours typing the stuff up. But enough about me on to the story.

This chapter is gonna be real short so put up with it.

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Chapter 3 Tobias' POV

Jake gave the order to ram the blade ship. I had morphed into my human form. If I was to die, it would be as a human, in the body I was born into. 

I should have felt sad and been really upset, but I felt oddly happy in a way, relieved even, I was finally going to see Rachel again, after three long years of hoping, wishing for something, anything, to bring Rachel and me together.

5 seconds to impact the ships mechanical 'voice' 'said'.

Wait a moment, 4 seconds until impact, what was that tiny glimmer at the ends, 3 seconds to impact, of my limited, pathetic human sight? 2 seconds until impact. 

How I missed those hawk eyes of mine. 1 second to impact. And have a pleasant day

The blade ship was 10 metres or so away.

Tears were streaming down Marco's face but I was happy, no, happy wasn't the word for it, I was overjoyed, elated even. I would finally see Rachel after three years.

Then a metre away from impact, the whole ship got jerked to the side. Impossible! The Blade ship managed to skip to Zero space while we went scrabbling around, trying to slow enough to turn around and see what caused us to miss the Blade ship.

It was another ship of course, but the amazing part was that _Rachel_ was flying- or at least operating (sp?) the ship. That's right RACHEL. Not the ship Rachel, but the human Rachel, _my_ Rachel. 'Course Cassie was there too but that fact seemed unimportant compared to the fact that RACHEL was there.

Then it hit me, I must be dead because Rachel was dead and there was no was she could come back. But maybe it was the Ellimist? Who knew? Nah. Most unlikely because he couldn't bend the rules, not even a little bit.

I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming or dead. It hurt so I wasn't. So what on, or off, Earth could be going on?

I heard Jake's voice reaching me from as though he had been underwater or a really long distance away or as though I was dreaming.

His voice had the good effect of bringing me back to my surroundings and I noticed that Rachel and Cassie's ship had docked alongside our own ship, The Rachel.

"Oh my god, it's Rachel and Cassie!" I heard someone exclaim.

But I never found out whom because I was suddenly running. My human legs were taking me as fast as I could to Rachel, the girl I loved, and she was running to me.

Dimly I was aware off everyone else running to greet them, even Menderash, Santorelli and Jeanne were running and they didn't even know Rachel and Cassie.

We were almost there when we all stopped. And waited. For something....

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Sorry I stopped here * smiles apologetically*. I know its a weird ending but I had to stop. I needed to change POV.

Do not throw a book at me, Barbie and others who like fluffy stuff. Breathe deeply and repeat after me "I will not kill nith, as there will be fluff in the next chapter".

I'll try to get the next chapter out soon. It should be soon because right now holidays have just begun and I'll have plenty of time. 

However about the fluff, the next chapter might not be good nor long 'cause I'm hopeless at fluff and without help from you readers and two friends * smiles hopefully at them* the next chapter might not come out at all. I've decided it will be from Marco's POV this way he can ruin all love scenes- * starts running away from an insane Barbie, pausing for breath at Pluto* calm down Barbie the mantra above should be useful. As well as "must not kill nith until next chapter this way I can read the whole T/R scene first".

So that's my free computer time gone. Gotta get off the computer before my little-sister-from-hell realises and screams the place down.

Tell me what ya all thought by reviewing. It's quite simple, you push the big button labelled 'Review'.

cya all,

nith 


	4. Chapter 4 Marco's POV

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Disclaimer: Read my lips, I do not own Animorphs. Got it? Good. 

Sorry the last chapter was so short peoplez. I'll try to make them longer from now on. But I can't guarantee anything I've got writers block and I _really_ need ideas.

I can't believe it I've got 12 reviews! * faints from happiness* But on with the next chapter.

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Chapter 4Marco's POV

I just watched, amazed as Rachel, Cassie, Tobias and Jake ran towards each other, then I realised that I was running too. But that wasn't all, Jeanne and Santorelli were running alongside the rest of us, Animorphs.

It was a huge group hug, only two people were kissing, Rachel and Tobias of course **(A/N happy now barbie?). **I was about to break them up with the help of some smart comment because I felt like I was gonna puke at the pure cheesiness of it all. But Cassie and Jake both threatened me with looks that said 'Leave them alone for a bit' by Cassie. While Jake meant 'if you interrupt them, Rachel is gonna morph to grizzly and tear you apart limb by limb'. 

So I bailed for the other room but not before yelling,

"I wanna be the godfather of at least one of your kids, Zena" okay so maybe not one of my brightest moves but I couldn't resist teasing her after all I hadn't teased her for over three years, course she had been dead but still....

Wait a moment, that was right, she was dead so what on or off Earth was going on? Why was she here?

"What!" She screeched after breaking away from Bird-Boy, storming over, she punched me straight in the stomach. It hurt so much, it had to be the original and real Rachel.

"Ouch!", I exclaimed instantly, "Geez, I try to make sure it's the real you and I get punched for my trouble".

But at least now I was positive that it was Rachel and not an angry David back for revenge. I didn't think I could deal with him again.

Then I looked over at Jake. My mouth dropped, Jake had tears running down his face but what was amazing was that he looked happy- truly happy once more or at least as happy as possible. Course it probably helped that Cassie was right there next to him, holding his hand.

All of a sudden I felt kinda lonely, awkward and left out. There were two couples in the Animorphs and I wasn't in either. 

I turned to Jeanne, planning on hitting on her for a while when I noticed that she and Santorelli were just standing there with goofy 'Awww! Idn't **(A/N: 'idn't' isn't a typo) **it cute!' grins plastered all over their faces. I smiled at this stupidity until I noticed that Santorelli had a hand on Jeanne's shoulder, It might have been a 'just friends' kinda thing but I wasn't sure.

Great, now I really _am_ the odd one out now. Boo hoo hoo.

"Guess I'll go to the bridge to give you six lovebirds some privacy" I said with more than just a hint of bitterness or was that just jealousy? Hold on did I just say I was jealous? Yeah in a way I guess I am. They've all found their soul mates and they may not have been rich like I am but at least they were truly happy unlike me. I may be rich but I wasn't happy at all. Money couldn't buy real happiness or love. Never. 

As I was all choked up I decided to go before someone noticed anything. As I walked past Cassie, I caught her sympathetic glance. That was too much, so turning around I remarked casually,

"So fearless leader, you got a plan to kick THE ONE'S ugly butt? If not Cassie, help him like you did on the Iskoort Home planet"

That did the trick, both of them were sent into red-faced embarrassment.

I smirked and resumed my walk outta there. As I left, I heard Jake announce a meeting on the bridge in 10 minutes to discuss information and decide on a battle plan.

I knew I'd turn up to the meeting what with Rachel there, _some_one- namely me, had to prevent them from going _totally_ insane and out of control.

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Hey peoplez, sorry for the short chapter but it was the best I could do with a writer's block. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible.

thanx to the reviewers i've had so far.

special thanx goes to my best friend who made a few changes to the original copy of this chap. sorry i couldn't keep all of them.

barbie: happy? i have no idea where i got most of this. And no i am not writing out my internal turmoil or anything like that.

Anononoymous: i'm glad you like the fic and tweetz and barbie are just nicknames for some friendz of mine who will probably kill (or severely maul) me if i put their real names in. the next chapter will be a Jake POV with loads of fluff between jake and cassie. and that reference to hayden tells me that you and tweetz would get along instantly.

Tinkerclaire: im gonna make it that Jake can't talk to Rachel 'cause of guilt but then she tells him something similar to what Marco tells Jake near the end of The Beginning. 

thanx to Angelofcloud9, heartsyhawk, Salad Shooter, nicole and Rachel9466

See the button that says 'Click here to submit review'? Well click it to review and make me happy. If I'm happy enough I'll get the next chapter out sooner,

now should I or should i not list a few spoiler for chapter 5? 

...

nah, you'll just have to wait to find out.

nith


	5. Chapter 5 Jake's POV, geez really origin...

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Oh My Gosh !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I Got A Whole 21 REVIEWS. Thats right 9 for 1 chapter!. Miracles _Can _Happen. *sniffs, looking sad* I can't believe I actually got past the first chapter * eyes start to water* I just gotta thank my two best friends for threatening me and criticizing me *sniffle* whenever i had writers block. 

*sudden mood swing ends*

hold on a moment what just got into me? oh well its time for the year twelves at my school to leave and even though it won't be my turn for another three years 

( i'm in year 9) my friends and i have agreed that it's gonna be real sad.

* different mood swing suddenly starts*

Yippee!!!! it's da holidays. *starts dancing like a lunatic* freedom, I'm free for a whole 2 weeks!!! yeah!!! happy, happy, happy, happy, happy (yes this is one of my moods, just ask my friendz) *starts getting bored and walks in a circle saying "I'm getting bored, I'm Getting Bored, I'M GETTING BORED, I'M GETTING BORED!" oh what to do, oh what to do? 

I kno how about i stop annoying you lot with my incessant babbling and start getting to the next chapter of the fic?

Nah. I'm having fun. Anyway i haven't been uploading because of a joint effort by two of my evil teachers Stormont ( my history teacher) gave us two assignments. TWO at ONCE! And Sowter (my english teacher) gave us two too. and with english you actually have to think AND express an opinion. That's plain NO FAIR!!! then i had all these other assignments. then my sister got some assignments that she had ta do so I couldn't use the computer then! 

Another thing that happened is that me and a friend by pen name of Summer Rose have decided to do a few combined fics. We are gonna set up an acount specially for them so I hope you people will at least take a look, they are Harry Potter fics.

And whats more, after that it waz time for da yearly exams. Boo hoo.

Anyways enough with the complaining and explaining and on with the fic.

Oh, wait a sec, I almost forgot the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: who here actually thinks I own Animorphs? If any do, please go to the nearest mental institute for emergency help.

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Chapter 5Jake's POV

I was overjoyed, elated even. The reason? Rachel was back. She was ALIVE!!! Yes the biggest burden was off my shoulders, all of a sudden the 17,000 or so Yeerks killed didn't matter and with Rachel with us we couldn't lose. Never. **(A/N: great, i just spilt black paint all over the handwritten copy, perfect isn't it?)**

But now it was time for the meeting to start seeing as we had actually lost the Blade Ship.

As soon as we were all assembled Rachel came up with a plan that consisted of tracking down the Blade Ship, take over by using brute strength and then rescue Ax- I mean Prince Aximili. Yeah sure I'd let her do something like that, she seemed to forget that it was a plan like that that got her killed in the first place. No way in hell.

"Umm.... try 'No Way', Rachel, We go after them, sure, but once we find them we talk to them, try to compromise, get Ax then haul butt outta there. Absolutely no loss of life or injuries for either parties, okay? ". 

By now all the Animorphs were staring at me in shock. What? Did they think I was just gonna take 'em into a plan that several of us would end up dead in? No way, this war was gonna be different to the last one. I wasn't gonna make any of the same mistakes all over again.

Rachel narrowed her eyes,

"Jake, Cassie told me you had changed but I didn't think you had changed _that_ much. Now I'll say this nicely and I'll say this only once so you'd better listen good: WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN SMOKING? THAT _ONE_ , WHATEVER IT IS, HAS GOT AX AND ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IS NO ONE GETS HURT? WE NEED YOU TO LEAD, OKAY? BUT IF YOU'RE LIKE THIS THEN SOMEONE _WILL_ GET KILLED AND WE _CAN'T _TAKE THAT RISK." she stopped her ranting long enough to take a breath. 

How could she expect me to take charge like I used to, when I had gotten her killed? To live with the guilt that I had sent my cousin to destroy my brother was hard enough to deal with, but to live with the knowledge that I had gotten her killed a second time? How did she expect me to do that? I would go crazy from grief.

Wait she had started again but in a slightly softer tone.

"... I know it's probably hard for you to bear but all of us _chose_ to come on this mission, okay? We know about the risks and we also know that we will all survive and emerge victorious, if only so I can go shopping _and _watch that Animorphs movie." Rachel finished with a laugh.

I grinned, yep, we could be in the middle of space somewhere looking for a space ship to rescue our friend and Rachel would be talking about her next shopping trip.

She laughed when I mentioned it.

"Okay people," I said rubbing my hands together, " seeing as it's highly unlikely that we will be able to compromise with THE ONE I suggest we proceed to chase the Blade Ship _but_ with full shielding power, we don't want them to know that we are still here. How many docks were there on the ship, Menderash?" 

"You got a plan fearless leader?" Marco asked with a maniacal grin.

"Bits and pieces" I said.

"Yes! Watch out Yeerk slime 'cause Jakie boy is back" Marco said, punching the air with a fist.

"Anyway, roughly how many docks were there on the Blade ship?" I asked before Marco could get too carried away. 

Cassie gave me a small smile, guessing exactly why I had said that, her smile was still enough, even after three years, to make me turn into jelly. I wonder, exactly what happened to Ron Chambers? 

She came over until she was standing right next to me and whispered,

"I broke it off with Ronnie, he tried to stop me from coming after you and the others"

"Well I'm glad you did", I began, trying to ignore my heart thundering so loud that I was sure that Cassie could hear it, "we would have been fried without you".

"I know", She said laughing.

Why did she have to laugh like that? If I had thought that I was hooked three years ago it was nothing compared to me now.

"Rachel said that you lot couldn't keep out of trouble without us and I guess she was right" Cassie continued.

Suddenly I became aware of movement at the corner of my eye, Cassie had noticed it too. It was Rachel, Tobias, Marco, Menderash, Jeanne and Santorelli whispering to each other. As we continued to watch them, out of the corners of our eyes, we noticed Rachel jab Marco in the ribs and hiss something like, 

"You go".

"Ouch", Marco whimpered and, clutching his ribs, he walked up to us. Cassie and I turned around to see what he was gonna do. He surprised us by starting to speak,

"I have been appointed by that bunch of people over there", he began, pointing at the others, "to tell you two that, even though seeing you two get together is amusing, we probably should be working on freeing Ax first."

Cassie and I sprang apart embarrassed.

"So exactly how many docks were there on the Blade Ship?" I lamely tried to cover up as everyone except Cassie and I sniggered. Including Menderash, for some reason he had developed a humanoid sense of humour that wasn't always welcome. I felt myself turn bright red.

"Hey Jake, ya know, the hairy tomato look really suits you" Rachel called out causing everyone, _including_ Cassie, to burst into fits of laughter. I felt myself flush worse.

"Is this 'Everyone Pick On Jake Day' or something?" I said trying to keep some respect.

Wait, just let me add it to my calendar Tobias said, causing everyone to burst into fits of laughter.

"Well I guess you don't want to know what plan I've come up with" I sniffed.

"Oh come on man, we're only joking", Marco whinged, "I wanna know the plan".

"There are several dozen docks there" Menderash cut in.

"Good, seeing as there are two ships available to us and THE ONE doesn't know that, we can dock both on different sides of the Blade ship, if our shields are up they wont realise that we are there until it's too late. We all go in and, Rachel you're gonna love this, wreak chaos until we find Ax and rescue him or wreak chaos until they return him", I revealed, "it's got a few holes in it but we can pull it off. Any objections or information to share?"

"Actually, yes"

It was Rachel who stepped forward.

"The Ellimist told me that those three are to go straight back to Earth. No objections, they gotta go." she said pointing to Jeanne, Santorelli and Menderash.

"What?" Marco said.

"Sorry guys", she said to those three, "but you've gotta go", then turning back to us, "You know that plan would also work with just one ship and we can keep a close eye on each other".

Cassie grinned at me, then I realised what Rachel meant by that last statement. She didn't want to leave Tobias.

In less than ten minutes it was finalised. Rachel, who had taught herself how to pilot ships properly, would be the navigating, flying person when Menderash left.

All to soon they had left, after promising that we would all meet up after the war, to hang out.

Les than ten seconds after the others had jumped into Zero-space, an alarm went off in the ship.

Warning, warning unidentified craft at intercept time of two seconds

The next instant an enormous TTSSEEWW!! could be heard and The Rachel (the ship) popped open like a balloon that got stepped on. Everyone got sucked out through a huge rip in the hull. 

I saw Marco and Tobias flailing desperately get pulled out. Someone crashed into me. Rachel! She had been brought back to life only to be killed now. She looked like she had been knocked out. But I wasn't sure if that was only it.

Cassie, where was she? I tried to semi spin while my lungs were screaming for air. I noticed her nearby fully conscious but for much longer I couldn't tell. I tried to speak but failing that I managed to mouth something to Cassie. I wasn't going to let her die without knowing how I felt about her. 

It was a simple message 'Cassie, Iskoot home world' but it was enough. She managed to smile weakly before loosing consciousness.

No! I wasn't going to let her die alone. I reached out and grasped her hand.

My last conscious thought before my own brain shut down was that at least the two of us, Cassie and I, would not die alone.

****

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So what did ya think of that? worth it? i hope so. sorry once again for taking so long but lots of things came up. I'll type more up soon because the Christmas holidays are coming up soon (its been about 7-9 weeks since I began typing this up). 

Anywayz thanks to everyone who reviewed. Reviews are much appreciated so please review again. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far.And tweetz i hope this chapter is enough to make you read this fic again. Urgh, seven words and I've written 2000. Yes done it. 

Okay cya,

nith


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